Yvonne Strahovski is... 29 today!

I couldn't let today pass without mentioning it's the birthday of the astonishingly beautiful actress Yvonne Strahovski, who turns 29 today. Many happy returns! She doesn't read this blog, I'm almost certain, but the thought's out there. Yvonne's a very personable, talented and drop-dead gorgeous actress, whom I hope goes onto bigger and better things now NBC's Chuck is drawing to a close. I can't wait to see what doors open for her next summer.

If you're a fan like me, and you somehow don't already know, you can follow Yvonne on Twitter, too. I'm sure she'd appreciate a birthday wish. In the meantime, as pure indulgence, here's a fun, sexy, action-packed compilation of the birthday girl's work on Chuck:

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Comic-Con 2011 panels: CHUCK, COMMUNITY, DOCTOR WHO, GAME OF THRONES, GLEE, Joss Whedon, RINGER & Women of Comic-Con

In the second compilation from San Diego Comic-Con (the first is here), we have the panels for Chuck, Community, Doctor Who, Game Of Thrones, Glee, upcoming series Ringer, a panel with writer-director Joss Whedon (Buffy, Firefly), and a special "Women of Comic-Con" roundtable featuring Buffy's Sarah Michelle Gellar, Chuck's Yvonne Strahovski, Fringe's Anna Torv and Nikita's Maggie Q.

As before, you'll have to click through to YouTube to continue watching the panels, as most are split into multiple parts. I think this just about covers all the weekend's Comic-Con panels I'm interested in, but if you have others to share just leave a link in the comments below. Disqus cleverly opens a pop-up window, which is very handy.

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'CHUCK' 4.24 - "Chuck Versus The Cliffhanger"

Going in, I knew NBC had renewed Chuck for a fifth and final season, but still suspected this finale wouldn't risk ending on an actual cliffhanger, as that would have infuriated fans if NBC had axed the insuperable series. As it stands, Chuck has managed to survive a good three years longer than its ratings justify--and, while the show's definitely past its prime, after this rejuvenating finale I'm more open to a 13-part swansong.

Continuing from last week's shocking climax, Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) has been hospitalized after Vivian Volkoff (Lauren Cohan) targeted her with the Norseman super-weapon, leaving fiancé Chuck frantic at her bedside. Upon realizing he only has 12-hours to find an antidote for the poison that's killing his betrothed, Chuck enlisted Casey (Adam Baldwin) and Morgan (Joshua Gomez) for a rogue mission to free the only man capable of saving Sarah: supervillain Alexei Volkoff (Timothy Dalton), the Norseman's creator. Unfortunately this meant going up against the mighty CIA itself, with Agent Clyde Decker (Richard Burgi) under orders to keep Volkoff incarcerated at whatever cost. Matters were further complicated when Decker removed the "Alexei Volkoff" persona from sneering Volkoff, turning him back to affable scientist Harvey Winterbottom.

A problem with "Chuck Versus The Cliffhanger" was the confusing way the CIA became the enemy, as it felt ridiculous they wouldn't help Chuck save the life of his fiancée--a renowned CIA agent who's saved the country/world on more than one occasion! Does General Beckman (Bonita Fiedericy) have no sway? What's the big deal with letting Chuck interrogate Volkoff for the whereabouts of an antidote? Why was Decker in such a rush to erase Volkoff's personality, beyond a need to make Chuck's life more complicated? The reasoning was a rather woolly point that Chuck knows too much about the Agent X programme (whereby the CIA accidentally created the world's most notorious terrorist), so he's too much of a security risk. Sorry, but I don't buy into that.

It felt like a lapse in logic that writers Chris Fedak and Nicholas Wootton simply couldn't answer effectively (they just needed an organisation to put in Chuck's way), so they plowed ahead and hoped most people wouldn't notice, or care. They're lucky so much of the finale was entertaining enough to forgive that flaw, but it was still annoying to me. Unfortunately, this ragged and nonsensical aspect of Chuck has become more prominent in late-season 4, as the writers have scrambled to keep the story going an additional nine episodes.

It's also true that the bulk of "... Versus The Cliffhanger" followed a fairly predictable path: Volkoff being redeemed after getting his original identity back, Chuck managing to convince Vivian to turn her back on supervillain-y, etc. But there were interesting flourishes along the way. I particularly liked the way Chuck had the Intersect wiped from his mind by Decker and spent the majority of the episode using his own skills, experience and humanity to save Sarah's life. In many ways this was the angle that gave the episode a sense of finality, as Chuck effectively threw away his mental crutch and walked unaided as a true spy. "Charles Carmichael" became Chuck Bartowski, as they're now one and the same.

Second of Strahotness: the blushing bride

This was the least action-orientated finale of Chuck I can remember, but the stakes were arguably highest. Sarah's life has been threatened before, sure, but the whole situation felt more tense because of the against-the-clock element and dependable hospital drama. The occasional flashbacks to Chuck and Sara coping with pre-marital jitters by rehearsing their wedding vows also worked very nicely, plus it gave Yvonne Strahovski something to do in a Sarah-lite hour. The fact the actual wedding only happened in the last five minutes, and was reduced to a relatively brief scene, didn't seem to matter too much. We've already seen a big ceremony with Ellie's (Sarah Lancaster) wedding in season 2, and all you really needed was to see Chuck and Sarah in their finery and saying "I do" for the moment to work.

It's a shame the Vivian Volkoff story didn't work this season, as I think it was a decent idea that just needed more time to cook. That's perhaps why Vivian was underused here, as the emphasis was instead placed on her father--restored to his original self. The realities of Volkoff's situation were obviously swept under the carpet by a lighthearted show like Chuck (this is almost like waking up to realize you've been Osama Bin Laden for 30 years!), but it was still a fitting way to end the Volkoff storyline. Dalton's been great value this season, even if I mostly disliked the Volkoff story arc.

"... Versus The Cliffhanger" also ended with a surprising amount of setup for a fifth season, which it will fortunately be able to explore now. The Intersect-less Chuck, Sarah and Casey have been fired from the CIA, Castle has become an empty shell, but Volkoff has decided to make amends by giving Chuck and Sarah an eye-watering $877 million from his dismantled criminal empire. Enough money to start their own freelance outfit, now that Chuck's bought the Buy More and outfitted Castle, and investigate the insinuation from Decker that Chuck's whole life has been more determined than destined...

Even better, Morgan unwittingly downloaded the Intersect via some snazzy shades and has essentially inherited Chuck's geek-to-spy role--in many ways restoring the show to its fish-out-of-water origins. A truncated season without governmental restrictions, but with Morgan as a novice spy out in the field doing Kung Fu? That could be fun. I just hope Chuck doesn't take too much of a sidekick role, as it would feel weird having the show's lead character play second fiddle to his best buddy all season.

Overall, this wasn't my favourite season finale Chuck's done, but it was a great one by this show's dicey standards, and easily one of the misfiring season 4's best episodes. It essentially relied on our fondness and connection with Chuck and Sarah to earn its emotional peaks, and they're still a TV couple who can tug at your heartstrings.

Asides

• Great scene with Devon (Ryan McPartin) helping Morgan incapacitate a CIA operative at the hospital by agreeing to be his distraction, but after seeing the fear in Morgan's eyes deciding to punch the spook out himself.
• I was glad to see Sarah's C.A.T Squad return as her bridesmaids, but unless I'm very much mistaken they had to recast Mircea Monroe.
• Jeffester didn't get the Sarah/Chuck gig? I had my fingers crossed for Billy Idol's "White Wedding", too.
• The idea of there being a huge conspiracy that's been influencing Chuck's entire life is, of course, a ludicrous idea to swallow--but I'm interested to see how the writers try to make that feel plausible in season 5. I suppose we've already discovered a lot of the random events regarding Chuck becoming the Intersect weren't so arbitrary after all, so maybe it'll work. But how deep does the conspiracy go? Was his relationship with Sarah pre-planned by someone, too?
• Will Chuck reveal to the Buy More staff he's the owner of the business? I'm predicting not, because there would be too many questions asked about how he can afford that. Likewise, it's unlikely Chuck and Sarah will be moving into a palatial home--agreed?
• Did anyone else get the feeling from Decker's chat to Chuck on the Castle videoscreen that his murdered father Stephen may not actually be dead? I certainly hope that's true, as it would be great to see Scott Bakula back on the show--together with screen wife Linda Hamilton.
• Any other predictions for the final season? Sarah's mother has got to make her long overdue appearance, right? Will they have time to squeeze in a pregnancy storyline for Sarah, or would that incapacitate her character too much? Will Casey rekindle a romance with his ex-fiance Kathleen McHugh? Will General Beckman somehow get screentime? Will the CIA become a thorn in Team Chuck's side? Will the show be retitled Morgan--at least for one alternative opening title sequence, please!
• Chuck's being moved to the disreputable "graveyard slot" of Friday nights next season, which ordinarily means it will die there. But could Chuck's small but loyal fanbase turn it into a surprise hit, by Friday night standards, and see the show renewed for a sixth season? With this show, you can't discount anything!

written by Chris Fedak & Nicholas Wootton / directed by Robert Duncan McNeill / 16 May 2011 / NBC

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NBC renew 'Chuck' for season 5

Against all the odds, again, Chuck has been renewed for a fifth season by NBC. The order is for 13 episodes, but a "back nine" could be required if ratings are great (unlikely) or the rest of NBC's schedule is a disaster zone (likely.) Chuck only managed an average of 5.6 million viewers this past season, and I'm not alone in believing the show (one of the all-time underdogs) has hit a creative low.

The mass exodus of its best writers didn't help matters, but I still maintain that Chuck's simply exhausted itself now. It's no longer fresh, and it's had to evolve to a place that's less interesting and entertaining as a result. I don't even blame the writers for ruining the show, because this is exactly what happens when a show like Chuck managed four seasons -- especially one where the writers are never sure of their future from one finale to the next, and often get asked to write an additional nine episodes at the eleventh hour.

What will season 5 entail? We don't know yet, but the show generally gets mileage from its character's family connections, so expect to see Sarah's mother and maybe evem the pitter-patter of a baby Chuck. I just hope the writers devise a plot arc that's more entertaining than the Mary Bartowski/Alexei Volkoff one, and NBC don't ask for more when the 13 episodes are nearly done. Or if they do, give the writers an earlier heads-up, please.

I know we discuss this most weeks, as Chuck's future has in many ways become more interesting to talk about than its actual output these days, but... are you please, angry, or surprised it's coming back? Can anything kill this show? As I tweeted, if Subway sponsored Al Qaeda there's a good chance Osama Bin Laden would still be alive today.

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'CHUCK' 4.23 - "Chuck Versus The Last Details"

The penultimate episode of Chuck (perhaps ever--again) was a better episode than we've become accustomed to recently, but there were things that strangled my enjoyment. I've simply grown bored of Chuck (Zachary Levi) and tired of his relationship with Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski); which remains cute because the actors have good chemistry together, but has long since stopped being a compelling love story. Plus, as I've been unimpressed by the Mary (Linda Hamilton) and Volkoff angles to this season's arc, any episode that involves both causes my heart to sink. The only outright successes this week were a brief diversion with Morgan (Joshua Gomez) undercover and a sweet denouement that took a shocking twist.

This week, Mary Bartowski was caught by Vivian Volkoff (Lauren Cohan) and evil mentor Riley (Ray Wise) trying to steal their lethal Norseman weapon (which uses DNA samples to kill targets over vast distances) from a secret mine in Amacayacu, Colombia. Upon hearing the news of his mother's capture and incarceration in the mine, Chuck, Sarah and Casey (Adam Baldwin) travelled to Colombia on a rescue mission, keen to ensure Mary can attend her son's forthcoming wedding. Meanwhile, Ellie (Sarah Lancaster) and Morgan reluctantly agreed to let Jeff (Scott Krinsky) and Lester (Vik Sahay) compile a video-montage celebrating Chuck and Sarah's romance, to be played at their rehearsal dinner.

This whole Vivian storyline could have worked if it has been planned from the very start, but as something introduced late it's just annoyingly implausible because it hasn't been given enough time to develop. It's a shame US TV allows for networks snapping their fingers and forcing writers to scramble and get another nine-episode story arc done without much preparation. It's given Chuck a half-improvised feel in these final months. The writers have had to pull off this trick before, sure, but those earlier seasons of Chuck were much easier to milk fresh stories from.

Second of Strahotness: bride-to-be-autiful

"... The Last Details" was crammed with pop-culture references -- which are sometimes amusing, but usually lazy ways to get geeks grinning in lieu of actual jokes. Chuck and Sarah accessed the mine by re-enacting a scene from Star Wars where Han Solo used Chewbacca as a prisoner, with Casey playing the Wookie; Chuck inspired Morgan to play a crime boss by humming "The Imperial March"; Linda Hamilton was seen doing pull-ups in prison as a nod to Terminator 2 (although I have my doubts that was really Hamilton doing them); and there were shout-outs for '80s movie Mannequin and AMC's Breaking Bad, etc.

But I appreciate scenarios that are actually funny or inventive, not just referential, of which there was only one: Morgan pretending to be a sinister villain (ordering the death of a puppy in a phone call), then having to fake his own death when his peers were killed by the Norseman device, before Casey demonstrated astonishing sniper skill by taking out a room of baddies by shooting through walls, only using the visual input of Morgan's camera-glasses and his GPS position.

The final scene was much better than the rest of the episode, with Chuck and Sarah's rehearsal dinner taking place, and Lester's horrifying video-montage being rescued by Jeff's alternative cut -- which was so perfect it earned him a full on the lips smooch from Ellie! And the final twist, with Vivian (now aware her father became a villain because an Intersect Chuck's father created went haywire) triggering her backup Norseman to target Sarah, worked very well. It's highly unlikely Sarah's going to actually die (so was this the equivalent of a warning shot from Vivian?), but it was still a very tense ending. A part of me would applaud the courage of Chuck if they did kill Sarah (seriously, this show would become legendary), but Chuck's too sweet-natured for that kind of punch to the guts.

I don't have much else to say this week, really. I'm sure most of you liked "... The Last Details" more one than me, as you're probably more tolerant of the Volkoff/Norseman nonsense, find pop-culture references hilarious, and have maintained deeper affection for "Chara" this season.

Aside

• NBC reveal their 2011/12 Upfronts next Monday, so fans will be aware if next week's finale is the last episode till season 5, or the end-of-the-line for this spy-comedy. In previous years I've had my fingers crossed for a reprieve, but I'm now hoping NBC cancel Chuck. Season 4's been the worst year of the show, so best to let it go with some dignity intact. The prospect of more episodes, with the inevitable "Sarah's pregnant" plot arc, just doesn't appeal to me now. The show's had its time. In fact, it's had more than its time because of NBC's ratings struggles and the creative ways Chuck's running costs have been lowered. I think the actors (particularly Levi and Strahovski) deserve the chance to move onto bigger and better things.

written by Henry Alonso Myers & Kristin Newman / directed by Peter Lauer / 9 May 2011 / NBC

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'CHUCK' 4.22 – "Chuck Versus Agent X"

This felt like three episodes stitched clumsily together, meaning it was notably disjointed, but there was enough good humour across the episode to see it through -- not to mention two big developments for the show's mythology. For those reasons, I found myself enjoying "Chuck Versus Agent X" more than expected, particularly during an action sequence set around a house in the idyllic English countryside.

This week, Chuck (Zachary Levi) and Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) had their bachelor and bachelorette parties. For Chuck, this meant a road trip to Vegas with buddies Devon (Ryan McPartlin), Casey (Adam Baldwin), Big Mike (Mark Christopher Lawrence), Morgan (Joshua Gomez), Jeff (Scott Krinsky) and Lester (Vik Sahay), which turns out to be a campsite, not the world-famous gambling mecca. Sarah was thrown a "party" by Ellie (Sarah Lancaster) that threatened to be a tedious bore involving aromatherapy, until she was surprised with a more conventional shindig with invited female guests you won't recognize -- many of whom don't seem to actually recognize Sarah! Seriously, it's a little worrying to be reminded that Chuck has so few regular female characters. Couldn't Casey's daughter Alex be persuaded to swing by?

Meanwhile, Alexei Volkoff's lieutenant Riley (Ray Wise) was trying to locate Orion's super-laptop with the help of his sexy sidekick Jasmine (India de Beaufort), unaware it's in the possession of Ellie. After a mix-up with bags that puts the super-laptop in Devon's possession during the boy's night out, it eventually became clear Chuck must confess to his sister that he's not only still a spy but is the recipient of the Intersect their father's laptop keeps referencing.

I'm not a fan of the Buy More clique, but I enjoy Chuck on the rare occasions it finds a way to get the whole cast involved in a story. The ensemble feel seems to work well with Chuck's style of comedy. For that reason, the bachelor party to "Las Vegas" was fun, especially because the writers have to find amusing/ridiculous ways to keep Jeff, Lester and Big Mike oblivious to the fact their lives are under threat by swarms of bad guys. This episode didn't handle the promising idea of Chuck's bachelor party very well, but fortunately the story progressed into a more successful second phase -- after Ellie learned the truth about her brother (she took the news so well it made you wonder why Chuck kept it secret), and the reveal that "Agent X" is a man called Hartley Winterbottom, a friend of their father's who used to reside in Somerset, England. Adding a further wrinkle, it turns out Winterbottom was the world's first recipient of an Intersect, designed to provide him with an impenetrable cover identity, but the program malfunctioned and made it impossible for Winterbottom to remember his original life.

Second of Strahotness: sud-uctive

The last quarter of "... Versus Agent X" rescued the whole episode in many ways -- as Chuck, Sarah and Casey arrived at a quaint English country house to investigate the history of Winterbottom, meeting his eccentric mother (Millicent Martin) with the requisite obsession with tea. In an Avengers-like twist (or was it inspired by Helen Mirren in RED?), the sweet old lady then revealed herself as a gun-toting bad-ass with an enormous machine gun hidden in her coffee table, ready to fend off Riley's team when they made their approach over her garden's stone wall. The sight of a genteel old woman pumping lead into baddies, before detonating C4 using a hand grenade triggered by the strand from a ball of wool, has to rank as one of Chuck's funniest. In fact, if we don't get more Mrs Winterbottom soon, I'm writing a letter of complaint. This "Granbo" made Casey look like a wimp.

But it was still a mixed episode, lacking a clear focus, with about three different ideas just stirred together. The episode's big reveal (that Alexei Volkoff himself is Winterbottom) was predictable the moment the story involved England and a mysterious scientist approximately Scott Bakula's age, but still worked well. It clearly wasn't the intention of Chuck to reach this point back when Volkoff was introduced, but the ad hoc development's a fun one. I'm expecting Volkoff to have his mind cleared of his proto-Intersect and be restored to a character not unlike his "cover" of bumbling nerd Tuttle, which would a nice bookend for that character. I much preferred Timothy Dalton as lovable Tuttle over rasping Volkoff, so it would be a nice way to bring that character back, and restore peace with his daughter Vivian. If that's where the story is definitely headed, anyway. I could be wrong, as it's perhaps too predictable and will be avoided somehow.

Incidentally, I guess my 2009 poll and letters to NBC finally paid off, as the delightful India de Beafort (Krod Mandoon) made a guest appearance. It was just a shame her character didn't amount to much (a happy-go-lucky role as a friend of Sarah's would have been more satisfying), but her presence was still welcome. Her character Jasmine was apparently blown to smithereens, but another appearance on the show would be appreciated, if Chuck returns next season. I'll resume writing those letters...

Overall, "... Versus Agent X" lacked a streamlined plot and was really just a trio of ideas swimming around, trying to fit together in a plausible way. But I'm just glad Ellie's now fully apprised of the situation with her brother (the delay was agonizing and confusing), and the setup for Volkoff feels like it'll deliver some entertainment and a possible happy ending.

Asides

• Why did Sarah pretend to be English exactly? Was it just an excuse to let Yvonne Strahovski do another accent? For what it's worth, she does American a lot better.
• Why doesn't America use the British terms "Stag" and "Hen" parties? Australia does, right? It's so much cooler. I suppose "bachelor party" is passable, if weirdly formal, but "bachelorette party"? Bleugh.

written by Phil Klemmer & Craig DiGregorio / directed by Robert Duncan McNeill / 2 May 2011 / NBC

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'CHUCK' 4.21 – "Chuck Versus The Wedding Planner"

I've said many times that Chuck's at its best when it's having lighthearted fun, ideally with a streak of family-tinged emotion running through it, and "Chuck Versus The Wedding Planner" proved that once again. After so many episodes spent trying to convince us the Mary/Volkoff storylines are emotional and compelling this season (they're neither), it was so refreshing to get an episode that spoke to the main characters, especially the undernourished Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski), with a few scraps thrown to Casey (Adam Baldwin) in a subplot...

This week, Chuck (Zachary Levi) and Sarah were cheated out of $26,000 they'd saved for their nuptials, by grifter Daphne Peralta (Lisa LoCicero) pretending to be a wedding planner. Infuriated at the deception and their gullibility, Sarah sought advice from her conman father Jack Burton (Gary Cole) living in Miami, before convincing Chuck to pretend Daphne's a terrorist so General Beckman (Bonita Friedericy) will give them access to the CIA's database to find her. Unfortunately, their lie got out of hand, leading to a huge manhunt for Daphne that quickly exposed their dishonesty. Meanwhile, Jack arrived in Burbank following his daughter's surprise visit and, after Chuck and Sarah were suspended for lying, became the only person who could help them catch a gang of real terrorists Daphne had arranged to plan a wedding reception for. Elsewhere, Casey's ex-girlfriend Kathleen (Clare Carey) got closer to discovering that he isn't dead, and has been in touch with their daughter Alex (Melvin Mekenna) for months...

I'm a huge Gary Cole fan, so it was a particular delight to see him return to Chuck, even if this episode wasn't quite as focused on him than his previous appearances have been. In fact, there was a chunk of time where it was hard to see why he was even involved, and the show kept him on the sidelines with Devon (Ryan McPartlin), but thankfully the wedding hustle got him directly involved, and the flashbacks to 1989 (when Sarah was a little girl saving pennies in a piggy bank for an adventure with her dad) were quite sweet. I'm so fed up with Chuck's family that it's just nice to see a different relationship on the show (Cole and Strahovski work very well as father/daughter), and a pity Chuck's never really found other familial relationships of equal strength for the supporting cast. Casey's come closest with his once-estranged daughter, but even that's not quite as interesting as it promised to be, and this episode seemed to rush the long-awaited moment when Kathleen realized Casey isn't dead. A problem here was how that's a far bigger emotional situation than anything happening with Sarah/Jack, but shoved into a subplot. Crazy. And it didn't help that Kathleen's reaction to seeing her dead lover, alive and working at a Buy More, was unrealistically sedate. She barely raised an eyebrow!

Second of Strahotness: specs appeal

"... Versus The Wedding Planner" was also the first episode in a very long time to make me laugh out loud, in the moment where Sarah described Chuck's "flash-face" and attempted to pull the same gormless expression herself. Chuck's exaggerated "fake-flash" for the benefit of Beckman was also very amusing, and the story had a certain snap to it that's been missing this year. It was as silly and coincidental as usual, but I really don't mind when Chuck's just finding excuses for ways to get Sarah doing a funny voice in spectacles, or Casey shooting someone with a spring-loaded net. Plus, there were a few avenues that felt quite fresh here -- like Sarah/Chuck actually lying to their boss and getting in a mess over their personal lives, Chuck becoming "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" when Beckman didn't believe his genuine flash, and seeing the team have to operate along without the usual CIA backup. These were only minor things, but taken together they helped give the episode a feeling of freshness.

And as I said, the heart of the episode was evident throughout, even if I still struggle to see why Sarah and Jack have such a fraught relationship. They always seem to get on just fine, really. And while Jack may be unreliable it seems silly he'd refuse to be there for his daughter's wedding day just because he might let her down. I suspect the writers don't want Jack to come across as too unlikable, but still want us to accept he's a "bad father". It's just hard to see it, because everything about his present-day interaction with Sarah (the dance at the wedding), and the '89 flashbacks (him tucking sleepy Sarah into bed) says their relationship's just fine, really. And it was a lovely moment to see Jack had returned Sarah's childhood piggy bank after 22 years, now loaded with money to pay for her own forthcoming adventure with Chuck.

Overall, "... Versus The Wedding Planner" was fun and emotional at all the right moments, only really letdown by a very hurried subplot for Casey (that deserved its own episode to do it justice), and a final scam that wasn't all that impressive. In many ways this felt like an old-school episode of Chuck, which always seem to be the best ones these days. The show can still be fun and very lovable when it wants to be, if it just remembers to give the characters something rewarding to play with, and a story that doesn't conform to the usual boring templates. This was something a little more satisfying than usual, with heartfelt and humorous moments holding it all together. I'm sure we'll be back to the overblown Volkoff storyline before you know it, but for now this was a welcome reminder of why I started to enjoy Chuck in the first place.

written by Rafe Judkins & Lauren LeFranc / directed by Anton Cropper / 18 April 2011 / NBC

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'CHUCK' 4.20 - "Chuck Versus The Family Volkoff"

Will this season ever end? It feels like we've been stuck watching the interminable machinations of Alexei Volkoff (Timothy Dalton) forever. Remember when Chuck was a string of standalone, funny, exciting, sexy escapades, with only a thread of mytharc running through it? It feels like the writers are running out of ideas, so there's been far more reliance on family-based serialization this season. And, frankly, Chuck's too trivial to do a good enough job with that stuff for an extended period of time. I suffered through the Mary Bartowski (Linda Hamilton) back-and-forth, but even that's creeping back into the narrative as Chuck approaches its finale -- hitting an all-time low in the ratings, to boot.

This week, Chuck (Zachary Levi) was shocked to hear that the CIA plan to assassinate Vivian Volkoff (Lauren Cohan), believing she's become a traitor after the bombing of Castle, so organizes a meeting to ascertain her loyalty. But when the rendezvous is interrupted by a mystery sniper, second after Vivian gives Chuck super-weapon "The Norseman" as a sign of good faith, relations become even more strained. So much so that Chuck and Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) are forced to meet with Vivian's incarcerated father Alexei, who agrees to help them retrieve the missing components of "The Norseman" (which, uh, kills targets instantly using DNA tracking?) if they arrange a meeting with his daughter.

Meanwhile, Ellie (Sarah Lancaster) delves deeper into her father's super-laptop, finding information relating to an "Agent X", which unnerves her mother so much she starts erasing files behind her daughter's back. Elsewhere, Casey (Adam Baldwin) was saddened he can't attend his daughter Alex's (Mekenna Melvin) graduation, as her mother still believes he's dead, and Chuck grappled with the fact Sarah's given him a pre-nuptial agreement to sign. Is that a sign she has no faith in their marriage going to the distance, or just a spy-related precaution he should accept?

I really don't know where to begin. I'm just not having fun with Chuck nowadays. I think it's become obvious it's squeezing the last dregs of juice from its high-concept premise, only really kept alive because weddings and childbirth have become markers for the writers to reach for with key characters.

I have no idea what super-laptop and Agent X is all about (didn't the laptop scan Ellie and identify her as X?), but even worse I don't actually care. It just feels like a way to give Ellie something to do, as she's been a largely unnecessary character since season 3. And I've lost track of what Ellie actually knows about Chuck's activities. I seem to remember her being told everything about his double-life as a spy and Intersect, but that can't be true based on how Chuck and Ellie interact during this episode. Really, Chuck's mythology has become convoluted simply because the writers go down avenues they regret (letting Ellie know Chuck working for the CIA), so drag themselves back as best they can (Ellie thinks Chuck's stopped working for the CIA.)

Second of Strahotness: the ice queen

Timothy Dalton's an interesting case. I thought he was sublime when he was introduced as his alias, Tuttle, and he's had his moments as criminal mastermind Volkoff, but in general I think Dalton's been ill-served by the material. The writers don't even seem to know if he's Russian or British from one scene to the next, while Dalton's accent slips all over the place. Chuck's the kind of show where actors can come in and have fun, so I can't be too harsh on Dalton's scenery-chewing, but there's nothing about his character that's particularly funny or frightening. I miss Tuttle -- a character who was a world away from the kind of characters Dalton usually plays, not this OTT Soviet whose accent appears when he says his own name.

I really liked the idea of Vivian Volkoff turning from genteel English socialite to super-bitch villainess, but the development's cut too many corners. The flow of the story's been knocked by non-Volkoff episodes and an inopportune hiatus, so everything about Vivian's character has fallen a little flat. It was a promising idea that hasn't fulfilled its potential -- and what happened to Ray Wise as the Volkoff lawyer?

The theme of family members keeping secrets was established well across the various storylines: Vivian's masterplan to usurp her father, Casey's long-standing lie to Alex's mother about his "death", Ellie shocking Chuck by lying about what she's found on their dad's super-laptop, etc. There were also a few entertainingly silly and ludicrous scenes, like Volkoff accessing his secret Swiss Alps base by playing a five-minute game of computer chess with automatic guns trained on him, or Chuck playing Uno with a pirate called Ellyas Abshir (Kevin Daniels) in Mogadishu.

Overall, I'm hoping the "Agent X" story develops into something surprising (there's a risk Ellie's about to be "Intersected", right?), and the Volkoff storyline achieves a worthwhile payoff. There are elements I'm still enjoying about Chuck (its heart is in the right place still), but this season's story arcs haven't appealed to me, and some of the show's usual pleasures have dulled over time. Maybe fans are in denial, but Chuck's best days are behind it and I hope it's allowed to end on a high soon. I'm very surprised episodes like this get positive reviews elsewhere online, as we've seen it all before, done better.

Asides

• I'm sorry, but Linda Hamilton's still terrible. As Mary, you don't sense any kind of connection with her screen children. It was bad casting, prompted by the fact she played Sarah Connor in The Terminator (one of cinema's most badass mother figures.) Unfortunately, Hamilton doesn't fit the tone of this show and isn't being given anything funny to even attempt -- perhaps wisely. She's hardly known for her comedic repartee.
• A timely shout-out for Game Of Thrones, with Chuck reading George R.R Martin's novel and exclaiming "Eddard, you don't let your kids keep a direwolf. That's a terrible idea."

written by Amanda Kate Shuman & Nicholas Wootton / directed by Robert Duncan McNeill / 11 April 2011 / NBC

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Video: Yvonne Strahovski appears in College Humor's "Three Pop Stars, One Song"

"I'm from the year 3000. I'm here to eat your penis."

Chuck's Yvonne Strahovski gets her very own College Humor showcase, in this spoof music video where she takes on the guises of Katy Perry, Ke$ha and Lady Gaga. It's the not-entirely-funny "Three Pop Stars, One Song" music video! But it's worth watching just to see Yvonne wearing a cream-spurting bra and (to a much lesser extent) blowing chunks into a toilet bowl. It's fun seeing her doing something outside of Chuck, anyway.

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Jump the Blast #12 - 'Chuck'

How's this for something different? We've had our fill of people avoiding explosions, so now we've moved onto porcine action heroes! In CHUCK's recent episode "Chuck Versus The Muuurder", a piggy nicknamed 'Kevin Bacon' avoided becoming roasted when a fireball ripped through the air vent he was trotting down. The swine.

Have you noticed a shot in a film, trailer, advert, or TV show that features someone jumping/walking away from an explosion of some kind? If so, why not email me a screengrab and you can be credited in the next installment of "Jump the Blast".

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'CHUCK' 4.19 - "Chuck Versus The Muuurder"

We're approaching the season finale, but Chuck's spinning its wheels a little, and after this episode it appears recent events with Director Bentley (Robin Givens) were just mini-arc that's not going to play a major part of the brewing Vivian Volkoff situation. "Chuck Versus The Muuurder" was yet another "bottle episode" (taking place entirely on the standing sets, to save cash), which seem to appear with increasing regularity these days. The basic concept of "Chuck-does-Cluedo" wasn't too bad, but I found myself largely bored until the story started to tighten towards the end and gave us a strong finish that rescued the entire episode.

This week, General Beckman (Bonita Friedericy) allied Director Bentley with Chuck (Zachary Levi), Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) and Casey (Adam Baldwin), in order to continue her project to find new Intersect agents. Four candidates were duly interviewed and tested at Castle, under Chuck's management: gifted hacker Lewis (James Francis Ginty), who has developed an English accent after a semester in the UK; genius Josie (Karissa Vacker), a woman with excellent intuition; swarthy Damian (Mousa Kraish), an agent who resembles a stereotypical Arab terrorist because of years spent undercover in the Middle East; and Brody (Stephen Pollack), a young man with many physical and psychological similarities to Chuck already.

At the Buy More, Morgan (Joshua Gomez) had to deal with the kidnapping of Big Mike (Mark Christopher Lawrence) by rivals Large Mart, in retaliation for Jeff (Scott Krinsky) and Lester (Vik Sahay) stealing their store's piglet mascot, Kevin Bacon. Elsewhere, Devon (Ryan McPartlin) found himself conflicted over Ellie's (Sarah Lancaster) interest in her father's super-laptop and neural research, as it's proving to be a joyous distraction for his wife, but one that might contain a dangerous surprise.

Forgiving the fact that being an Intersect is supposed to send you insane (something Chuck's protected against because he has a unique "governor" his father made him), which calls into question the concept of turning agents into Intersects, it was a fairly amusing idea to have Chuck try to find a likeminded comrade. It's just a shame the four candidates were underwritten and caricatured (another terrible English accent, an almost offensive racial scaremonger), and I'm confused about how the CIA are going to create more Intersects anyway. Isn't that technology beyond them? Bentley only managed it last week because Orion's all-purpose laptop was apparently capable of embedding an Intersect, but they're not in possession of that device now. So what was the plan here, exactly? It seems that Chuck's losing the grasp on its own lore these days, in the pursuit of plots that haven't been told yet.

Second of Strahotness: cool in a crisis

The bulk of "... Versus The Muuurder" was an Agatha Christie-esque murder-mystery scenario, with various candidates turning up dead, with the eye of suspicion passing over the remaining few. There were only five viable suspects from eight, but Alex Katsnelson and Kristin Newman's script did a surprisingly good job keeping you guessing about the culprit's identity. This was a necessity of any murder-mystery tale, and I was relieved to see this episode managed a few twists and surprises that worked and, more importantly, made sense. In some ways, this was probably the best plotted episode of Chuck in a long time, as the show isn't really known for its intricacy. I'm not saying "... Versus The Muuurder" was a mystery worthy of Hercule Poirot, but in the context of Chuck it was put together with some skill.

Sadly, the subplots were a yawn. The Buy More story about a rivalry over kidnapped mascots was so tonally at odds with the murderous events in Castle that it just felt annoying. The episode should have had the courage to focus on the murder storyline, rather than provide light relief with a cute pig. The guest stars could have done with the extra time to build their characters, and the sense of claustrophobia would have been helped.

And the situation with Ellie just doesn't make much sense to me still. I can suspend my disbelief over many things, but quite how she's somehow able to access and understand her father's research into neural programming is beyond me? Is she a brain neurologist? No. Has she ever shown herself to be particularly computer literate? No. In this subplot she discovers that her father was working on a way to have knowledge implanted straight into a human brain. Well, what's new? It's evident he succeeded because that's exactly what the Intersect is -- all the government's top secrets burned onto a human mind. I'm not sure what they're getting at here, although the concluding scene with the laptop scanning Ellie as she slept, identifying her as "Agent X", got my attention. Are we about to see Ellie become even more powerful than her brother? But if so, there's not much threat there. I still suspect Vivian Volkoff is destined to become an Intersect, seeing as how she's been setup as the "twin" of Chuck whose own father is leading her down a very different path.

Overall, this wasn't a terrible episode, just underwhelming for the most part, although the reveal of the Castle killer was handled so well it glossed over some weaknesses. It was also fun seeing Chuck step up to become a leader in his team's eyes, and eventually win the respect and approval of Bentley (who, it turns out, was a pretty redundant character this season.) But a disappointing bunch of wannabe-Chuck's and a tedious Buy More subplot drained a lot of goodwill. I just hope the remainder of this season starts getting a move on with the Vivian Volkoff storyline, now Chuck's aware she's stepped up to become his nemesis.

written by Alex Katsnelson & Kristin Newman / directed by Allan Kroeker / 21 March 2011 / NBC

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'CHUCK' 4.18 - "Chuck Versus The A-Team"

There was a great theme of obsolescence running through this episode, in a story that justified a two-parter but instead bailed out after an hour, leaving a few dangling threads. Chuck (Zachary Levi) and Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) became suspicious of their lack of missions and a mysteriously absent Casey (Adam Baldwin), soon discovering that they've been demoted to the "B-Team" by Director Bentley's (Robin Givens) new outfit in the NSA-built "Castle 2" next door.

It was definitely a great idea to have Chuck and Sarah pushed off their pedestals and replaced by hunkier, leggier versions of themselves. Bentley had managed to replicate the Intersect using Stephen Bartowski's super-laptop, and uploaded the data into two CIA spooks: Captain Richard "Rick" Noble (Isaiah Mustafa) and Captain Victoria "Vicki" Dunwoody (Stacy Keibler); both recognizable as former "Greta" agents. Indeed, the ever-changing Greta position at the Buy More was revealed to have been a field test to find suitable agents to become next-gen Intersects. It was a decent way to make the misfiring Greta idea feel relevant, retrospectively, but I'm mainly just glad Mustafa and Keibler were given a second chance to leave an impression on the show. The problem with the Greta idea (beyond its intrinsic ridiculousness) was how it ultimately wasted brilliant guest-stars by confining them to the Buy More.

The actual plot this week wasn't much to get excited about (another arms dealer to catch), but that didn't really matter. The point of "... Versus The A-Team" was to see Chuck and Sarah reduced to trivial missions like retrieving a pampered dog, while Casey's super-efficient A-Team get to tackle the important stuff, and how they eventually managed to prove themselves as the superior agents. Crucially, despite the fact Rick and Vicki have high-speed Intersects that make Chuck's flashes look sluggish, they both lack his natural lateral thinking and act before they think. Flaws nicely proven when trigger-happy Vicki stupidly shot a man whose heartbeat was preventing a suitcase nuke from arming, and when Chuck managed to disarm the bomb using simple apple juice (its sodium content replicating seawater, which will deactivate the device because it was designed for Chinese submarines.)

Second of Strahotness: goggle-eyed

The subplot weren't so strong, but that's typical of Chuck. Sometimes you just need a breather so you can come back to the A-story refreshed, so they achieved their aim. Ellie (Sarah Lancaster) asked Devon (Ryan McPartlin) to retrieve the laptop her dad left her, as she's suddenly fixated on the idea there's a hidden message in there directed at her. It's a problem for Devon, as Ellie isn't aware the laptop's now in the possession of the CIA, so he tried to pin the blame on Jeff (Scott Krinsky) and Lester (Vik Sahay) for losing it after he took it to the Buy More for repair. Frankly, it all felt like a strain, while the suggestion Ellie (being a Bartowski) will be able to unlock the laptop's deeper secrets that are beyond Director Bentley is pretty laughable. She has no real insight or attachment with technology, from what we've seen. I guess there may be a few cryptic puzzles that reference Ellie's childhood to decipher. But still, it feels a little strange that this laptop is becoming such a linchpin to the plot now.

Still, by and large "... Versus The A-Team" was a great deal of fun and the core idea behind it was very entertaining to see play out. Chuck and Sarah on the back foot, Casey almost turning traitor in his friend's eyes, General Beckman (Bonita Fiedericy) being outranked by Director Bentley, decent guest-star appearances from Mustafa and Keibler, it all combined to create an episode that tapped into a fresh pocket of ideas. Givens isn't a villain, but her desire to revive the Intersect program kind of makes her one, in the sense that her success could make Chuck redundant. Kind of ironic that Givens offers Chuck everything he wanted in the days of season 1 and 2 (the removal of his own Intersect, to be replaced by someone else and be allowed to live a normal life), but these days he's desperate to remain a vital part of the CIA.

Overall, a strong episode from Phil Klemmer (one of Chuck's original writers, now back on-staff after working on Undercovers), and you could actually tell one of the show's founders was in control of things. It all moved a lot better and felt more creative. Quite a few of Chuck's writers didn't return for season 4 (Alison Adler went to No Ordinary Family, Scott Rosenbaum took over the running of V, Zev Borrow and Matt Miller joined Human Target, etc) and there's been a noticeable change. Season 4 has been a lot scrappier than previous years, basically. If Chuck does return for a fifth season, I'm hoping most of the "old team" will be reunited, as quite a few of the shows they joined aren't likely to get renewed.

What did you make of this episode? Did it deserve longer than an hour to tell its story, given how strong the idea of replacing Chuck was? Or is that still possible, seeing as Bentley hasn't given up her project? And what secrets will Ellie discover in her dad's laptop?

Asides

• Of course, the Greta gimmick was happening well before Stephen Bartowski's laptop was ever discovered, so it doesn't really fit that Bentley was testing agents to replace Chuck.
• "Euegh, sounds like a CBS show." NBC's Chuck comments on Sarah's use of forensic gadgetry, at their rival network's expense. Very funny.
• Product placement: I think PP is in my head now, as it arrived on UK shores as of last week, but how could you not notice the awkwardness of Chuck extolling the virtues of Devon's car as the perfect tailing vehicle.

written by Phil Klemmer / directed by Kevin Mock / 14 March 2011 / NBC

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'CHUCK' 4.17 - "Chuck Versus The First Bank Of Evil"

Season 4's new storyline properly launched after last week's groundwork, with an entertaining episode that has me more engaged with the notion of Chuck (Zachary Levi) accidentally turning Volkoff's sheltered daughter Vivian McArthur (Lauren Cohen) into a supervillain. "Chuck Versus The First Bank Of Evil" was rather bloated considering how simplistic the main storyline was, and there was a truly awful subplot for Morgan (Joshua Gomez) this week, but the intention behind this arc definitely has legs.

Last week's inciting cliffhanger, with Vivian discovering a secret room in her father's office filled with blue light, was resolved in a disappointing way. I was hoping for some kind of Evil Intersect to turn Vivian into a more literal antithesis of Chuck, but instead Alexei Volkoff just likes to keep his bank card in ostentatious surroundings? Maybe he also keeps his car keys in a chamber full of dry ice and green lasers. The thrust of the story involved Vivian helping Chuck and Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) gain access to the world's most impregnable bank in Macau, where Volkoff is said to keep his most prized possessions in a safety deposit box. General Beckman (Bonita Fiedericy) spotted a chance for Vivian to plant a device in the bank's stolen Chinese servers, which will help the CIA trace laundered money around the world, meaning a mission involving a bank robbery distraction was called for.

In a brain-numbing Buy More subplot (oh how I've missed 'em), Morgan placed an advert for a housemate to avoid living with his mother and Big Mike, which was rewritten by Lester (Vik Sahay) and Jeff (Scott Krinsky) so various costumed members of a medieval fair arrived for an interview. Ultimately, this was a feeble excuse to see people dressed as kings and wenches, with predictably ridiculous "British accents" -- pitched somewhere between East London via Galway. Indeed, this was an episode where British accents were a big joke, as Volkoff's lawyer (Ray Wise) earlier tried to convince Vivian to inherit her father's evil empire by reading a letter from her dad in his accent. To be fair, Wise does a tolerable upper-class English accent. Shame that Englishman Timothy Dalton's been playing Volkoff as a Russian this season!

Second of Strahotness: bank rubber

Much better were the smattering of moments with Sarah choosing her wedding dress, using the hitherto unseen high-tech dressing room at Castle, where you can see yourself wearing various clothes as a rotating hologram before making your selection. Well, I guess someone demanded to know where Sarah Walker gets all her outfits from, so now we know. I actually really liked this subplot, as it transformed Sarah from someone disengaged with her own wedding (unable to echo Ellie's excitement over choosing flowers for the ceremony), to someone who only grasped the magnitude of the event when she found the perfect white dress. A revelatory moment beautifully played by Strahovski, leading to Sarah out-enthusing Ellie with talk of the wedding. "I've created a monster" opined Ellie, which is exactly what Chuck doesn't notice he's doing to Vivian...

I'm liking how the Vivian storyline is effectively a tug-of-war between the forces of Good and Evil for her soul, which gives Ray Wise's presence added relevance because he played The Devil in Reaper (a short-lived comedy very much in the Chuck mould). Lauren Cohen's great in the role and the writers are doing a decent job making you believe someone as sweet and innocent as Vivian can be turned to evil, simply by making her doubt the sincerity of Chuck (who promised her a meeting with her father he couldn't keep) and beginning to realize her father truly loved her (his deposit box contained photos from her childhood). Chuck himself planted the seed in Vivian's mind that an absent father doesn't necessarily equal an unloving father, speaking from personal experience with his own dad.

You can also sense the underlying badass in Vivian's character, which occasionally slips out -- such as the moment when she stabbed her dad's lawyer in the hand, or when she kept a cool head during the bank operation. There are enough episodes left this season to make Vivian's transformation feel earned and affecting, so I have my fingers crossed they won't rush things and turn Vivian into a scowling villainess overnight.

Overall, "... The First Bank Of Evil" was a really good episode of Chuck in terms of theme and character, spoiled by a terrible Buy More diversion and fairly humdrum plot. The bank robbery was both a visual delight (a clear Matrix parody with Sarah rocking some leathers that gave Carrie-Anne Moss a run for her money), and patently absurd considering that bank's supposedly impenetrable. Chuck and Sarah faced such little opposition or security that it was a joke!

Asides

• A plethora of pop-culture gags this week: The Numbers (4, 8, 5, 16, 23, 42) from Lost were embossed on Vivian's bank card, Lost's recurring guest-star François Chau appeared as the bank manager, the lobby shootout from The Matrix was the clear inspiration for the bank robbery, dialogue was lifted from Pulp Fiction, and many more.
• Is nobody asking questions about why there's suddenly a tunnel leading to a restricted area in Castle, with workmen coming and going?

written by Henry Alonso Myers & Craig DiGregorio / directed by Frederick E.O Toye / 28 February 2011 / NBC

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'CHUCK' 4.16 - "Chuck Versus The Masquerade"

Regarding the primary storyline, "Chuck Versus The Masquerade" felt rather insubstantial, but this allowed for valuable character-based subplots for Morgan (Joshua Gomez) and, to a lesser extent, Casey (Adam Baldwin), who both came to realize they're becoming gooseberries in the lives of their friends. It was a curious episode, because I was more engaged with the subplots, which rarely happens on this show, although the last 10-minutes brought everything together nicely.

This week, Volkoff agent Boris Kaminsky (David S. Lee) began a one-man search for a mysterious "Key", which he can apparently use to gain control of his jailed boss' dormant organization, by interrogating and killing Volkoff's higher-ups about its whereabouts. The last person on his hit-list is affluent Englishwoman Vivian McArthur (Lauren Cohan), who General Beckman (Bonita Fiedericy) believes is Volkoff's chosen successor, so dispatched Chuck (Zachary Levi), Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski), Casey and Morgan to arrest her for questioning before Boris eliminates her. In three interwoven subplots, a stressed Ellie (Sarah Lancaster) and exhausted Devon (Ryan McPartlin) struggled to get baby Clara to sleep; Morgan decided to move out of Chuck and Sarah's apartment, as he feels like a third wheel; and Casey was approached by Jane Bentley (Robin Givens), director of the National Clandestine Service (NCS), about furthering his career by joining her secret operation.

I assume from this episode that Vivian's going to become the big bad for the remaining of season, by deciding to follow in her estranged father's footsteps. The "Key" (her V-shaped locket) not only unlocked a secret doorway in her father's office, but likely unlocked a villainous streak in her. I also enjoyed the parallel of Vivian being shown a literal doorway to a new life, at the same time Casey was shown the entrance to "Zone 6" beneath Castle. This episode was all about new beginnings, really. I also enjoyed the storyline with Morgan realizing he should move out of Chuck's apartment before his best-friend marries, and that his prized Star Wars collectibles have become childish anchors in his life. The moment when Morgan convinced Chuck it's time he moved out (with the Han Solo/Chewbacca figures used to represent their domestic separation) was also nicely done, although quite why Morgan believes moving back in with his mother is a step forward is anyone's guess! Can't he move in with girlfriend Alex (Melvin Mekenna) or get his own place? He's on a store manager's salary at the Buy More, after all.

Second of Strahotness: love angel

It was also a joy to see more Morgan/Sarah interaction in this episode, which is just an intrinsically funny pairing. In many ways their interaction reminds me of season 1, when Chuck was more noticeably "a geek" and self-conscious around sizzling Sarah. Morgan and Sarah have nothing in common beyond Chuck, and it was a delight to see Sarah try and make a connection with Morgan through his Star Wars toys, which slipped into babying him. They should get more scenes together, because the awkwardness between them is priceless, and Strahovski is particularly funny in this context.

The teaser set at Valentine's Day was also great fun, with lovebirds Chuck and Sarah accidentally discovering Morgan and Alex blindfolded, cross-legged, and engaged in tantric sex on the floor, moments before Casey burst in to catch his daughter and her boyfriend with chocolate smeared over their faces. It was unconnected to anything else happening in the episode, marking it out as filler, but it was still a great moment that focused on those five characters and their everyday lives together. In fact, it would be interesting to see Chuck do a whole episode without any spy-jinks, with everyone just kicking around at home over a lazy weekend.

Overall, "...Versus The Masquerade" had a smattering of great moments, tangled up in a perfunctory storyline about protecting Vivian from a hitman. Given how Chuck always focuses on families, I like the idea of playing up the father/daughter angle of Volkoff's criminal empire, having just completed a mother/son storyline with Chuck and Mary, and Victoria's turn to the dark side was also nudged along nicely (her privileged life is a repetitive bore so she craves excitement, she exhibited a dark side by killing Boris, and she was encouraged by Chuck that a person can change overnight). Unintentionally, Chuck's created his next nemesis...

Asides

• Boris assassinating someone in a car (a splat of blood hitting the windscreen), Vivian pumping Boris full of lead with a shotgun. Does anyone else think Chuck was uncharacteristically graphic with the violence this week? Sure, it's no Rambo, but it was noticeably tougher this week.
• How many times has Casey been undercover as a bartender now? If the spy game ever comes to an end, at least he has a fallback skill serving drinks. Likewise, we got more of Chuck and Sarah undercover at a swanky party -- the show's default situation for every mission.
• Will we ever see Morgan's mother again, if he's moving in with her? I'd love to see the interaction between Morgan, his mother, and Big Mike at the Grimes residence.
• Could Vivian actually be Chuck's half-sister? If her father's Volkoff, is her mother Mary?
• What could Casey's new mission be, working for the NCS in what's essentially the next-door office at Castle? It may be a little weird if Casey's still employed at the Buy More/Castle, but doing his own thing every week. I'm interested to see how the writers handle this, but glad it means Baldwin's finally going to get something to do this season.
• There was an enjoyable Human Target-esque finale, with Vivian and Chuck fleeing bad guys on a horse. Nice to see the show being a little more imaginative with its action sequences, as I don't remember there ever being a horse chase before

written by Rafe Judkins & Lauren LeFranc / directed by Patrick Norris / 21 February 2011 / NBC

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